''Such Good People'' is a 2014 American feature film comedy from director by

Stewart Wade Stewart Wade is the screenwriter, producer and director of several independent short and feature films. '' Coffee Date'' was released in 2006, and deals with the intersection of the gay and straight worlds. ''Tru Loved ''Tru Loved'' is a 200 ...

, screenwriter David Michael Barrett, and editor David Avallone, who produced the film under their banner, Such Good Productions. The picture had its world premiere at MiFo: Miami Fort Lauderdale LGBT Film Festival on May 9, 2014 at the historic Colony Theater on Lincoln Road. ''Such Good People'' tells the story of Richard (

Michael Urie Michael Lorenzo Urie (born August 8, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC dramedy television series ''Ugly Betty''. He can be heard as Bobby Kerns in ''As the Curtain Rises'', an original podcas ...

) and Alex (

Randy Harrison Randolph Clarke Harrison (born November 2, 1977) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Justin Taylor on the Showtime drama ''Queer as Folk''. Early life and college Harrison was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he starting ac ...

) who, while house-sitting for rich humanitarian friends, find a huge stash of cash in the residence. When the homeowners die in a car crash, altruism and greed collide as Richard and Alex try to decide what to do with the money.

Plot

Young couple Richard (

) and Alex (

) want what everyone wants: career, kids and a gorgeous home in L.A. But it all seems so impossible until they crash a party at Edendale, their dream house, owned by Jake (

Scott Wolf Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the television series ''Party of Five'' as Bailey Salinger, as Jake Hartman in ''Everwood'', as Chad Decker in '' V'' and as Carson Drew in ''Nancy Drew''. ...

) and Chloe (

Kate Reinders Kate Reinders (born December 10, 1980) is an American actress and singer, who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows. Reinders was born in Seattle, Washington, but raised in Spring Lake, Michigan. She attended Weste ...

), who are hosting a fundraiser for the orphans of

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...

. Richard and Alex hit it off with the hosts, and while house-sitting for them, discover a secret room filled with a million in cash. When Jake and Chloe die in a "rickshaw accident" overseas, Richard and Alex worry the cash might not go to the orphans, so they break into Edendale and take the money. They earnestly try to donate the money to Jigme Wangchuck (

Alec Mapa Alejandro "Alec" Mapa (; born July 10, 1965) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He got his first professional break when he was cast to replace B. D. Wong for the role of Song Liling in the Broadway production of '' M. Butterfly''. He g ...

), the deputy ambassador of the Embassy of Bhutan, and his assistant Priti Khagda (

Tania Gunadi Tania Gunadi (born 29 July 1983) is an Indonesian-American actress and producer. She moved to Los Angeles when she was a teenager. Biography Gunadi was born in Bandung, Indonesia. She won a green card lottery when she was a teenager and move ...

). But the Embassy officials, thinking they're being set up, refuse the money. So Richard and Alex deposit the cash, find another charity, and end up writing a check to "The Porpoise Purpose," headed by Stuart Hendron (

Lance Bass James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, dancer, actor, film, and television producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop boy band NSYNC. NSYNC's success led Bass to work in fil ...

) and his assistant Olivier (

Mitch Silpa Mitch Silpa (born January 9, 1973) is an American writer, actor and director, who starred in NBC's '' The Rerun Show'', and has appearances in shows such as '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''Desperate Housewives'', ''Gilmore G ...

). Just then, they learn from their Realtor, Logan, (

Tom Lenk Thomas Loren Lenk (born June 16, 1976) is an American film and television actor, best known for portraying the character of Andrew Wells in the television series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Early life Lenk was born in Camarillo, California, ...

), that Edendale is now on the market. They really want it but have given the money to the porpoise charity—so they stop payment on the check and use the money as down payment on the house, intending to repay the charity by taking out a second mortgage once escrow closes. But tough yet savvy LAPD Detective Dianne Kershman (

Ana Ortiz Ana Ortiz (born January 25, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Having pursued a career in ballet and singing from a young age, she eventually attended University of the Arts. Ortiz began her acting career in theatre, in early 2000s starred ...

) sees things differently. She tells Richard and Alex that Jake and Chloe were in fact murdered. Worried the killers must be after the money, they panic and confide in Alex's half-sister, Paige (Carrie Wiita) and her husband, Cooper (

James Urbaniak James Christian Urbaniak (born September 17, 1963) is an American character actor. He is best known for his roles as Simon Grim in three Hal Hartley films: '' Henry Fool'' (1997), '' Fay Grim'' (2006) and '' Ned Rifle'' (2014), Robert Crumb in '' ...

) who are therapists and RX drug dealers. Paige and Cooper realize the money Jake had owed them somehow ended up with Richard and Alex, whom they convince to take out the second mortgage—in cash. And after an ill-fated labradoodle kidnapping and hostage stand-off, Paige and Cooper discover the money hidden in the house and take it. Shattered, Richard and Alex do in fact sell Edendale. They repay the Porpoise Purpose, as Det. Kershman had pretty much guaranteed jail-time if they didn't. Richard and Alex then learn from Jake and Chloe's questionable Buddhist lawyer Sidney (

Rick Overton Richard Overton (born August 10, 1954) is an American screenwriter, actor and comedian. His writing credits include '' Dennis Miller Live'', and his acting credits include '' Beverly Hills Cop'', ''Groundhog Day'' and '' Mrs. Doubtfire''. Life ...

) that they were in possession of a rare Bhutanese artifact of Jake and Chloe's, the Kuntu Zangpo, worth $10 million, which Paige and Cooper also took. They interrupt Paige and Cooper's black market sale to art dealer Clay Hampton (

Drew Droege Andrew Gerhardt Droege (pronounced ) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and director best known for his online impressions of Chloë Sevigny. Early life and education Droege attended and graduated from Lincolnton High School in Lincolnto ...

), and get them—and Sidney—to confess. Det. Kershman rushes in and arrests Paige and Cooper for, among other things, drug dealing. She thanks Richard and Alex for helping with the sting. The chastened couple flies to Bhutan and returns the $10 million tchotchke to the orphanage, run by Buddhist monk Chana Dorje (Kee Chan) and they finally get their wish—they adopt a young boy, Kuenphay ( Forrest Wheeler). They couldn't be happier. Well, maybe they could—if they had a house.

Cast

as Richard *

as Alex *

as Cooper *

as Jake *

as Det. Kershman * Carrie Wiita as Paige *

as Sidney *

as Chloe *

as Stuart *

as Logan *

as Olivier *

as Jigme *

as Clay *

as Priti * Kee Chan as Chana Dorje * Forrest Wheeler as Little Kuenlay/Little Kuenphay

Casting

Producers David Avallone, David Michael Barrett and Stewart Wade cast the movie with actors well known to LGBT audiences.

, who plays “Richard,” was one of the stars of

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian ...

. Several cast members of ''Such Good People'' appeared on ''Ugly Betty'', including

(also from ''

Devious Maids ''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, P ...

''), comedian

(who also appeared in Stewart Wade's film ''

Tru Loved ''Tru Loved'' is a 2008 independent film written and directed by Stewart Wade and starring Najarra Townsend, Jake Abel, Matthew Thompson and Alexandra Paul. Plot Sixteen-year-old Tru has been raised in San Francisco by two lesbian mothers an ...

''), and Broadway star

, who plays “Alex,” is best known for starring in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

series, ''Queer as Folk''. Other cast members well known to LGBT audiences are

, (former member of

NSYNC NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to Europe ...

, ( ''Bridesmaids''),

('' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''), and,

. Additionally, the movie has comedians

(''

Henry Fool ''Henry Fool'' is a 1997 American black comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Hal Hartley, featuring Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, and Parker Posey. Set like previous Hartley films in less affluent parts of Long Island, it recoun ...

''), Carrie Wiita,

and improv performer

( ''Groundhog Day''). Forrest Wheeler from ''Fresh Off the Boat'' and

from ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by ...

'', join Kee Chan ( ''Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith'') to round out the cast. Notable cameos include:

Adam Huss Adam Huss (born March 1, 1977) is an American television and film actor, producer and writer. Huss is best known for his role as Josh Kantos in the Starz TV series ''Power'' and as Lance on ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. He was also an on-air ...

( ''Power''), Adam Bucci ( ''Eastsiders''), Jason-Shane Scott ('' One Life to Live''),

Jeff Marchelletta Jeff Marchelletta is an American actor, and film producer. Biography Jeff Marchelletta was born and raised in Long Island, NY. Before becoming an actor, Marchelletta was an executive at one of the USA's largest building contractors. After a mo ...

, Ryan Spahn, John Halbach ( ''Eastsiders''), Allison Lane ('' Going Down in LA-LA Land'') and Mario Diaz (''Club King''). Editor-producer David Avallone also makes a cameo, in the role of “Sketchy Man.”

Production

After a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...

campaign to raise initial funds, ''Such Good People'' went into production on May 22, 2013 for a 16-day shoot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. In addition to director Stewart Wade, screenwriter David Michael Barrett and editor David Avallone, other key members of the production team were cinematographer Pierluigi Malavasi, composer Jonathan Dinerstein, and line producer Christine Triebel and Production Manager was Nicole Ettinger. Production Designer was Roman Udalov, Art Direction was by Dare Williams, Costume Design was by Cari Avila, Hair and Makeup was by Kat Laskey. The "Kuntu Zangpo" was created and designed by Harwood Lee, of Commercial Costumes. The house prominently featured in the movie, "Edendale," is in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, and is owned by writer/producer David Michael Barrett.

Distribution

At the conclusion of the worldwide festival run of ''Such Good People'', the film sold to Breaking Glass Entertainment who are distributing the movie on DVD, Blu-ray as well as streaming online streaming platforms

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television seri ...

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

, iTunes,

Vudu Vudu is an American digital video store and streaming service owned by Fandango Media, a joint-venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. The company offers transactional video on demand rentals and digital purchases of films ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

and

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...

Movies and others all over the world.

References

# # # #

External links

* *
Such Good People
production crowdsourcing campaign on Kickstarter *{{Official website, http://suchgoodpeoplemovie.com 2014 films American comedy films American LGBT-related films LGBT-related comedy films 2014 LGBT-related films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films